Health and Human Services would get boost under Obama's 2011 budget plan

News outlets report on how Health and Human Services fares under Obama's 2011 budget request.

This year's budget does not include the $634 billion "down payment" on universal coverage from last year's budget, The Washington Post reports. But "administration sources said the overall federal budget assumes a bill will be enacted and result in deficit reduction of $150 billion over the next decade. The budget for the Department of Health and Human Services envisions a few minor changes: a $1 billion increase for the National Institutes of Health... and an additional $290 million for community health centers." In addition, states would receive "an additional $25 billion to extend by six months increases enacted in last year's economic recovery act. Medicare would rise to $489 billion after recouping an anticipated $722 million in waste, fraud and abuse" (Connolly, 2/1).

CQPolitics: "While Obama announced last week he would freeze discretionary spending for many domestic agencies, HHS is clearly an exception. The budget shows that the administration considers the agency's health and welfare programs vital for a nation still struggling with unemployment rates in excess of 10 percent. The HHS discretionary budget would increase by $1.7 billion, to $81.3 billion in 2011" (2/1).

Reuters: "Documents outlining President Barack Obama's budget plan released on Monday include estimates for a "Health Reform Allowance" starting in 2010, although it was not immediately clear exactly what impact pending healthcare bills had the administration's plan" (Heavey, 2/1).

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This article was reprinted from khn.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.